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My Family Recipes-Special Series

Monday, August 22, 2011

Aam Ka Achaar | North Indian Style Mango Pickle

This year my MIL left to US just before the mango season and I had no intention of making any pickle as I am scared of attempting to make them on my own and hence my mom made Avakkay for me which I am yet to receive.Me and my husband do not like store bought pickles and we both are fascinated by the North Indian Aam ka Achar which my MIL makes and we love it especially with parathas.During one of our usual phone calls I have mentioned my MIL that we would not be receiving her signature pickle this time as she would be in US during mango season.Poor MIL,she really took it to heart and made the pickle masala with all the necessary ingredients and had sent that to me asking me to mix with the mango pieces during the mango season.She is really such a sweet heart and I really admire her for this nature of her's.

Coming to the pickle recipe,if you are a pickle lover this is one of the must try ones I would say as this tastes excellent with parathas or theplas.This pickle does not has anything for spiciness like red chili powder or green chili,but it is extremely tasty and flavorful with the other ingredients.The usage of mustard oil takes the pickle to another level,I must say that this pickle is a complete burst of flavors with the tartness from mango,pungency from mustard oil and mustard powder and the freshness from saunf and the mild taste from kalonji.This pickle is truly Punjabi style or you can say North Indian style Aam ka Achaar which is very famous.

I find it difficult to shoot pickles,though I wanted to show the pretty yellow mustard tukda in the pickle I could not capture it nice enough to show how the actual pickle looks like.So please don't go by its looks otherwise you would definitely miss this keeper aam ka achaar recipe.This is a hit at my place and even many of my relatives love this pickle which my MIL makes,so do try this one in your kitchen.

Wash and wipe the mangoes with a dry cloth.You really need to have sharp thick knife to cut into 1" thick mango wedges with the inner shell in tact as shown in the pictures.Here in India the shop keepers does this job during the mango season.

If the inner shell is in tact this will increase the shelf life of pickle.Take a sharp knife and scrub the inner shell to remove a thin white layer over it.This is another important step you should keep in mind otherwise the pickle gets spoil.

Now take a dry cloth and wipe the pieces from all the sides ensuring that they are cleaned well.

Spread them over a dry cloth while you are preparing the spices for the pickle.

for making pickle:

Keep ready the sterilized and sun dried jars ready before you start pickling.

Grind soamph and methi seeds in whipper mode until coarse powder.Do not run it for long time just run it for 2-3 times until you get coarse powder.

Now take a big bowl and mix the soamph-methi powder,mustard powder,salt,yellow mustard tukda,kalonji seeds and turmeric powder until everything is mixed well.

Now take another wide small bowl and take 1 cup of mixed powders and add sufficient oil until the mixture is wet completely and mix with hands.

Take some 10-12 mango pieces at a time and apply the mixture all over the mango pieces with your hands.Using your hands for this step is better than mixing it up with ladle.

Put the masala coated mango pieces in the sterilized jar and repeat the process of coating the mango pieces in small portions and fill the jar up to 1/4 th and add 1/4 cup oil to it all over.You can even sprinkle some mixed pickle masala over this if you feel that your mango pieces are not well coated.

Repeat the procedure coating the mangoes with the spice-oil mixed mixture and then layering in the jar with oil in between until you fill the jar.

Pour 1/4 cup oil over it and cover it with lid and keep it aside for 3 days.

On day-1 check it some oil might have started floating over the pickle.Do not panic if the oil does not float on day-1,if not on day-1 you will see oil floating on day-2.

Mix with a clean and dry ladle all over and repeat the same process on day-3.

Now taste the masala mixture in the pickle,it should be perfect and slightly salty as the pickle has to be yet marinated for atleast one week before its usage.But if you feel the salt is less add a tsp or 2tsps of salt to it and mix well.I don't think it would be necessary if you follow the measurements accurate.

On the day-3 if you see the oil is floating on the pickle up to an 1/2" height then it is perfect.Otherwise add extra mustard oil over the top until the oil floats on top.

Store it in air-tight tupper ware container or glass bottles.This way your pickle stores for long with freshness in it and even the mango pieces do not get soft.

Serve it with hot hot parathas and raitha.

Variations:

This pickle is not spicy but it is a real burst of flavors.If you want it spicy add 1/2 -3/4 cup red chili powder while mixing the masala.But I strongly recommend not to use red chili powder for this pickle.

Notes:

Always transfer a small portion of pickle into a small jar and use a clean and dry spoon.

Increase the amount of mustard oil as required in the recipe.The basic thumb rule is to make the oil float over the pickle after 3 days.So feel free to add extra mustard oil.

Do not replace or remove any of the ingredients in the recipe,all the ingredients are must to get a tasty Aam ka achaar in North Indian style.

This pickle stays good for an year.It might turn slightly sour after 5-6 months but it is good to eat with hot hot parathas and curd.

You can easily double or triple the recipe,the basic rule is to use 4 cups of mango pieces with 1cup salt and 1 cup mustard powder.

You can add a tsp of the pickle masala while making methi theplas,it really adds a nice taste to the thepla.

Thanks all..@Kanti..Yellow mustard tukda is just evenly broken pieces of yellow mustard(peela sarson) which we get in Mumbai easily,anyways that ingredient is purely optional, u can make the recipe with out it.Otherwise you can run regular mustard seeds in whipper mode until you get roughly done broken mustard pieces.This is added just for the look..though not compulsory

Hi Prathibha,New to your blog..and would like to say its wonderful, will be a rgular visitor :)Just a question: In the recipe you have mentioned to take 1 cup of the masala mixture and add sufficient oil and coat all the mango pieces...Then my question is what about the rest of masala..do we have to add it all at once in the jar or save it for the next time?I made this pickle yesterday and I have some dry masala mixture leftover so wanted to know how to go about it..?

@samruddhi..I usually sprinkle the left over masala all over the mixed mangoes and mix well...the idea of mixing the mango pieces separately is to coat the mangoes nicely..sorry for the confusion..will update the process

Thanks a lot Prathibha was your immediate response.So now I have added the rest of masala powder in the pickle jar, now waiting for it to get ready. In between I tasted the masala its delicious,even while writing this my mouth is watering :)I also tried your Andhra style mango pickle. :))

Hi.. Your Pickle looks awsome.. I love North Indian Pickles with Parathas.. And I wanted to give it a try and landed in your page for recipie.. I didnt know what is this "yellow Mustard tukda" ?I am a south Indian and i am not used to this term.. Can anyone explain what is this? and if there is any alternate ingredient for the same.

Hello Prathibha,Thanks so much sharing this recipe. I have eaten this at friend's place and loved it. Just wondering if any of the spices( black mustard seeds, fennel seeds and methods) had to be dry roasted before grinding ?Also can this be stored at room temperature ?